The Avery soccer team traveled last week to Owen High School for a conference match with the Warhorses. The two teams played a physical contest which featured a number of fouls and a fair share of yellow cards, but neither team could leave Warhorse Stadium claiming victory as the clubs settled for a 1-1 tie.
Both clubs played with passion and intensity throughout the first half of action, but defenses were strong as the game was scoreless through the first 40 minutes of play. Avery finally put a score on the board in the 52nd minute as Andrew Ingram took a send from Andreas Castanedas and blasted a laser shot past the Owen keeper to stake the Big Red to a 1-0 lead.
The score held up for much of the remainder of the second half. As the time slipped away, the Warhorses became more desperate, playing with an intensity that rose tempers on both teams. In the final minute of the half, Owen was awarded a questionable penalty kick. Coach Brancourt of Avery pleaded with the officials concerning a foul on the previous Avery possession that was more deserving of a penalty kick while disputing the official’s decision. Owen capitalized on the break and scored the equalizer to knot the game at one goal apiece.
Throughout overtime the teams hustled and dug deep within themselves to find the golden goal, but neither defense budged as twenty additional minutes of soccer failed to change the score.“We did a good job at Owen. Our defense is still playing hard and clean, but we still make too many fouls near the box,” Vikings head coach Lou Brancourt stated after the match. “Sutton (Stanley) is our leader, Andres and Daniel Huff are doing the dirty work and Morgan is back on track, which is really good news.”
Coach Brancourt was also frank about his feelings regarding the penalty kick that in the end took away what would have been an important victory for the Vikings.“The referee we had does not know how to handle games of that physical nature. It was just a good old Owen/Avery soccer match like the old days,” Coach Lou Brancourt stated after the match. “I am disappointed of course, but also pleased and confident that we can play like that again.”
On a rainy, cool, and foggy Wednesday evening, Avery played like a team on a mission of redemption following the events from Monday night, blanking the visiting Pisgah Bears by a 2-0 final score.
Avery put the first goal on the board with a kick from Kyle Griewisch in the final minute of the first half, The Vikings had other opportunities to score in the opening minutes of the second half of play, but the Bears keeper was strong in net for most of the evening. Avery scored a second goal off a throw-in as Kyle tallied his second tally at the 56 minute mark to provide for the final margin.
Despite getting the win, Coach Brancourt knows that the team needs to capitalize on more opportunities to be successful during the conference season.
“We are getting ready for Hendersonville who just killed Madison 9-1. Our training sessions are going very well, as I am in charge of our defense, and Daniel Jimenez and Chris Logel are doing a great job with our offense,” the coach added. “The game against Pisgah was a nightmare for our offense, and we need to finish our opportunities against teams like Polk and Hendersonville.”
Avery dropped a narrow 4-3 loss against Hendersonville on Monday evening at MacDonald Stadium. Kyle Griewisch put Avery on the scoreboard first with a goal to take a 1-0 lead. Hendersonville responded with three unanswered goals to close the half. Brayan Aguirre scored at the 18-minute and 30-minute marks, respectively, with a goal by Eddie Hernandez at the 24-minute mark.
Avery was down but not out, however, Andrew Ingram heated up on offense for the Big Red, as Griewisch assisted on Ingram’s first goal at the 65-minute mark. Ingram laced the equalizing goal past the Bearcats keeper to tie the match at 3-3 in the 66th minute. Fate was cruel to the Vikings as the close of the match neared, however. An own goal by the Vikings on an awkward-angled Hendersonville shot attempt in the 76th minute proved to be the game-winner for the Bearcats, who improved to 7-0 on the season.
